


The First Hello

by LysSerris



Series: One-Shot [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Bellamione Cult Ilvermorny Cup, Discord: Bellamione Cult, Established Relationship, F/F, First Meeting, Fluff, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 22:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20181964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LysSerris/pseuds/LysSerris
Summary: “She said that when you were at Aunt Andy’s home for the summer party thing that you had the biggest-”"No, no, no, absolutely not!"





	The First Hello

**Author's Note:**

> No Beta, No Edit, One-Shot

“But what if she doesn’t like me?”

“Pet, you managed to get Rod to like you. No one’s done that since the Dark Ages. How many times do we have to go over this? She’ll positively adore you.”

“But what if-”

“Pet,” Bellatrix shot her girlfriend a long-suffering side eye that spoke to her awareness of Hermione’s insecurities but also to how much she was beginning to be worn out by them. She turned away when Hermione finally relaxed back into the couch and began tugging on loose threads on her sundress that hadn’t existed until she’d started picking at them, content to do the same. Soft leather and cushioning foam molded around her body as she scooted further into her chosen seat, body calm but mind racing. 

** _Ding_ **

The bell for the lift rang out across the small waiting area while a twin set of steel doors opened up to reveal the converted freight lift that serviced the daycare center at the top of the building. Bellatrix braced herself with a calming breath of air and a quick reminder that this was only the first meeting of many. She wouldn’t tell Hermione, hells she couldn’t, but there actually was quite a lot riding on this meeting. This  _ first _ meeting. She loved Delphi to the ends of the world and back, would do anything necessary to protect her, keep her happy, but even she had to admit to some things. Delphi could be… hard to deal with. Opinionated. Set in her ways in a manner that shouldn’t have been possible for someone only eight years old. The little girl made up an opinion almost on the spot and rarely, if ever, changed it.

And now here she was, forty-six years old and with a daughter of eight who’d seen more bad in the world than some adults had. Her upbringing was an unfortunate consequence of her short stint in prison and Tom’s unflinching commitment to strict rules and terrible opinions. Her little girl had learned to take care of herself as no child ever should. 

But now she was out; free from the law and all her past mistakes, in full custody of her daughter. And on the verge of asking a beautiful woman nearly half her age to move in with her. It was a marked change of pace from her life four years ago.

Instead of a cold steel bench she now sat on the shitty couch of an expensive daycare, in an expensive city filled with too many shitty people. Hoping, wishing,  _ praying,  _ that her daughter would love Hermione as much as she did. Truth be told Bellatrix loved maybe four people in her life, two whenever her sisters were being bints, and she  _ needed _ Delphi to get along with Hermione. She’d been dreading this meeting for weeks and now it was do or die.

“Mommy!” The high-pitched voice of her daughter rang out into the empty lobby as the girl sprinted out from the grasp of her daycare teacher and straight towards where she was sitting. Delphi tried to jump up at the last minute, trying to fly into Bellatrix’s lap, and succeeded instead in ending up half on, and half off, of the massive black couch.

“Sweetie,” Bellatrix wrapped the girl in a hug before leaning back to haul her onto the couch with her, “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Her little girl’s eyes lit up as she peered past the corner of Bellatrix’s shoulder and out towards where Hermione was meekly sitting. “Delphi, this is Hermione. The lady I told you about?” Delphi narrowed her gaze as she shifted between looking at them both, her small eyes hard and suspicious.

“Hi.” Delphi’s greeting was short, clipped, her little body scooting backwards until she’d wedged her bottom between the armrest of the couch and Bellatrix’s hip.

“Hello Delphi, I’m Hermione,” she stuck her hand out in a professional manner and smiled as brightly as she could, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Your mother has told me all about you.”

“All good?” Delphi leaned forward to limply grasp at the end of Hermione’s fingers before shaking once roughly and then retreating.

“Of course, lots of good things! I hope she told you the same about me.”

“Mommy says that you work with Draco,” Delphi leaned forward as if to whisper her question conspiratorially while Bellatrix was left struggling beneath her awkward angle to wave goodbye at the worker who’d brought her down.

“I do! We both work in the Government, your cousin is a very good friend of mine.”

“What about Nympha?”

“Oh,” Hermione’s face paled slightly, “I don’t work with her as often-”

“Mommy says that you and Nympha dated, and she said she wasn’t good enough for you.”

Bellatrix could feel the blood drain out from her face with the same amount of rapidity as would have been expected of a cut carotid. It hadn’t exactly been a secret, Hermione’s relationship with her niece had been as open as one could be in England. But it wasn’t exactly a welcome topic of conversation; Nymph had ended up breaking Hermione’s heart by breaking it off to go trapezing off after ever dreary Remus, a man nearly twice her age.

Though, she expected she couldn’t exactly complain about that last bit.

Even if it appeared she’d done so, and often enough that Delphi had ended up remembering it.

“Oh really?” Hermione leaned back to shoot Bellatrix with a saccharine sweet smile, “What else did your Mom say about me?”

Delphi sat back into her little hollow while she thought, face screwed up as she thought as hard as a child her age could. “She said that when you were at Aunt Andy’s home for the summer party thing that you had the biggest-”

_ ‘No, no, no, absolutely not!’ _

“Well then! Look at the time, we best be off,” Bellatrix swept Delphi into her arms as she stood up from the couch, “Come on Pet,” she deposited her daughter on the ground and placed her hand atop her head, “We wouldn’t want to be late after all.”

Hermione gave her a cheshire smile as she moved to keep up with them, her eyes heavy and face filled with mirth. 

“Oh,” she sidled up alongside Bellatrix and linked their arms, “I think I’ll get along with Delphi just fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Like Bellamione? https://discord.gg/pcfMU4F come on in and join the server!


End file.
